There was a hush over the Bryce Jordan Center.

In hour 43 of the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, after nearly two days of noise, Family Hour brought silence.

Family Hour, which began at 1 p.m. yesterday, celebrated the lives of Thon children who survived cancer and remembered the lives of Thon children who did not beat their cancer.

"[Family Hour] means the greatest thing of all Thon. [It's] electrifying -- everybody can feel it," Mark Golden said. His son, Trent Golden, survived three years of treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). The Goldens are one of 191 Four Diamonds families attending Thon this year.

The hour began with a video of children who are "cured," which means they've been in remission for more than five years. Many have been in remission for more than a decade.

The video showed pictures and detailed how the survivors are doing today.

Dancers and spectators alike erupted into applause in celebration.

The crowd applauded especially loud for Thon children who graduated from Penn State or are enrolled at Penn State.

To many Four Diamonds families, the crowd forms a family.

"Smile for a family picture!" Kathy Setlock, mother of Thon child Joey Setlock, said as she took the stage to speak. "From the moment we arrive, we are family -- Thon family."

Setlock told her family's story of Joey's treatment. He finished treatment in 2005 and has been cancer-free ever since.

"You say the kids inspire you," Setlock said. "Well, you inspire the kids and the families."

Inspired by Thon as well, Judy Hoch took the stage. Her story, though, didn't have such a happy ending.

Her son, Colby, died at age 5.

"One of our final memories is here at Thon. The reason we come back every year is because it's like coming home -- it brings us back to Colby. You help keep us whole."

A video commemorating children who did not win their battle with cancer was played.

As Thon families walked across the stage, the dancers and the crowd cheered.

When all the families were assembled on the stage, dancers wrapped their arms around each other and became emotional, singing "Angels Among Us."

Dancer Amy Noblick had tears streaming down her face during family hour.

"It was just nice seeing all the families here. It gives you a perspective of why we're here," she said.

At that point in Thon, the stands were almost full. Organizations in matching T-shirts looked like a rainbow in the stands.

"Look in the stands and see the colors -- how powerful and beautiful," Golden said.

To Thon families especially, Family Hour is moving.

"For us it means that we're lucky she made it," Diane Buerke, parent of Thon child Elizabeth Buerke, who survived ALL, said.